By Eric Auner
As if the support from national security officials, former nuclear commanders, and numerous editorial boards wasn't enough, Arnold Schwarzenegger has now joined the ranks of New START supporters. He recently told a meeting of the U.S.-Russia Business Council (video available at link, New START section begins at around the eighteen minute mark):
Well, let me just tell you that the most excited I'm about is -- and I'm asking Congress to pass --is the agreement to reduce our nuclear weapons. This, I think, is the most important thing, because we can talk from here to eternity -- (Applause) We can talk from here to eternity about doing business together but if there's an accident, a nuclear accident of someone pulling something -- as you know, there are still a huge amount of missiles that are pointed at each other for no reason.
But everyone is trying to -- every country is kind of concerned about how do you get -- how do you reduce that? Because there are those in America that are trying to flex their muscles and pretend they're ballsy by saying, "we've got to keep those nuclear weapons." That's very rugged, when you say that. (Laughter) It's not rugged at all; it's an idiot that says that. It's stupid to say that. (Applause)
So, therefore, I think that what President Medvedev has done and President Obama has done and what Secretary George Shultz under Ronald Reagan has been promoting for decades now, is to reduce the nuclear weapons. And you've got to start somewhere and I think that they have done an extraordinary job in doing that.